


Confiscated.

by loisselina (LoisSelina)



Series: Learning to be family again (aka another step robin verse whoops) [2]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Angst, Gen, Oneshot, argument, but here it is a little, debating dark magic, getting to know another once again, no betas we die like david did every season, please please please send me some prompts, robin is David's step dad, step dad robin, stepdad robin, theres truly no tags for me to put in this tbh loooool
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-17 02:35:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29834745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoisSelina/pseuds/loisselina
Summary: Robin finds David half asleep in the library hours after their talk at the lake, they have another little talk.
Relationships: Prince Charming | David Nolan & Robin Hood
Series: Learning to be family again (aka another step robin verse whoops) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2191704
Comments: 4
Kudos: 2





	Confiscated.

**Author's Note:**

> ehhh i truly have no idea what this is, but here it is

David pulled his knees up to his chest in the plump armchair, letting out a small groan, he had been sat in a certain position for too long, apparently, he rested the heavy leather bound book against his knees, trying his very best to absorb at least some of the words. It was no use, he knew that; he was too tired and cold, despite the fire and candles lit around the library, and the events of the ball, and after the ball, some hours ago, was weighing on him. He should be upstairs in bed, beside his wife, he had been… until Snow had fallen into a deep sleep and he had crept out. He ran his hand through his hair, he just wanted to go home, The Enchanted Forest wasn’t their home, it hadn’t been since the second the first curse had broke and Emma had found them, their home was now no longer just with each other, it was with Emma, without her... well, it just wasn’t home anymore, their home was with her, and Henry. 

“That doesn’t look like Arthurian tales.”

David jumped hearing Robin’s voice, it took a second for him to realise that the voice which had spoken was Robin, they (Snow more than David) had offered Robin, his child, and Regina to stay for a while, Snow had pointed out to him that they needed time to get to know each other again, and David was honestly trying not to think about the fact that Robin was dating  _ Regina _ .

“It’s not.” David rose a single brow as Robin fell into the seat beside him, apparently he was sticking around, he saw the faintly familiar look of amusement on Robin’s face and rolled his eyes. “I was  _ not _ obsessed with King Arthur.”

Robin let out a puff of laughter, “I didn’t say that you were, Sunshine…. You just wanted to be a knight, dressed up as one, and told me and your mother that you were going to marry him...” He watched David roll his eyes but they were without heat, his son was staring determinedly at the book, but his eyes weren’t scanning the page, and he looked as though he was chewing inside of his cheek. “Hey Davey?”

David was staring intently at the book, refusing to look at Robin, “huh?”

“Kiddo,” Robin’s voice was more insistent until David looked his way, “why are you still awake?”

“Why are you?”

Robin rose a single brow, mirroring David a minute before, “I asked you first, Davey.”

David rolled his eyes, he would have rather been alone in the library, he was too tired to resume their fight, or forgiving him, or whatever truce was currently in place. “Looking for my kid. You?”

“The same.”

“He was in the conjoining room to yours,” David answered in a flat voice, he watched the disappointed look appear from Robin’s face, even though he was clearly fighting it, it was a low hit, David knew that, but he was hurting, and Robin was there to lash out at. 

“You know that I wasn’t talking about your brother.”

David tensed, he had only had James as a brother, and even then he had never got to meet him, he didn’t want another brother, or any brother, actually, especially not one so much younger than him. “Did you know about James.” His answer was found in the ashamed look before Robin dropped his head to look at his own nightclothes. 

“Your twin. I did.”

David clenched his teeth, “You never told me, neither of you did.”

“You were just a little kid, David, you had already gone through so much, you couldn’t do anything about it, you didn’t need to know until you got older. We planned to tell you when you were fifteen, I wish I could have been there with Ruth to tell you-.”

“-She didn’t tell me when I was fifteen, I was nineteen, Rumpelstiltskin, the Dark One, he came and with a deal, our farm for me, in replacement for James. My mother didn’t want to, told me we could figure out a way to survive… but we were starving, we’d lost our flock, our crops didn’t grow… I went.”

“...Kiddo-.”

“- Don’t. Please,” his voice cracked ever so slightly, “I’m fine, really I am, but please just don’t.”

Robin shook his head, he had an image in his mind of David, trying to be brave for Ruth, but hurting, like he was now, “Okay, but I’m sorry that you had to find out that way, and that you had to go through everything that you did.”

David swallowed deeply and nodded his head once in acknowledgment, “Thanks… What are you really doing awake?”

Robin gave a half shrug, “I couldn’t sleep, I was worried about you, I hoped you’d be resting up and avoiding getting a cold, but I know you better than that; so it was either a library, riding on a horse, or the kitchen.” 

“I’m not gonna get a cold,” David yawned and stretched, the ancient book in his arms slipped, but Robin caught it.

Robin glanced at the title, then read it again, carefully, then narrowed his eyes at his kid, “ _ Dark magic? _ Are you kidding me?”

David held his hands up in surrender, there had been a reason he had waited until nighttime to read that book, “Look-,”

Robin held up one finger to stop him, “-No. No David, there’s no ‘look’ here, what in all of the realms are you doing with a book like this? You think  _ this _ is the way to go about finding your daughter?”

David rolled his eyes, he could feel his blood starting to boil, his own frustration and resentment bubbling to the surface, “You don’t get it-!”

“ _ I don’t get it _ ?  _ Me _ ? Are you - I  _ get  _ it, David, I really do, I know the fear and the desperation, I know what it’s like dipping your toes into that side of magic, it  _ never _ works out,  _ ever _ ,” His tone was harsh and firm, full of disappointment, even as David lost some of his arrogant appearance and actually slid down in his chair as he had when he was a child, “So, if you want to not just make it back to your daughter but also lose your life, leave your wife to raise your second baby alone, grieving you, and without her daughter and grandson then you can find another book to do it with, ‘cause you are not getting this one back.”

David shifted in the armchair, looking down at his nightshirt, he just knew that his cheeks and ears would be red in embarrassment and shame, “It’s the library’s it needs to go back on the shelf or the librarian will be on my ass ‘bout it.”

“Then you can tell the librarian that your father has it; that it’s safe, and that it’s not going anywhere that you can get it. I don’t care how old you are, David, I’m  _ confiscating  _ this, I’m getting Regina to lock this away somewhere safe, or your wife to, or if the librarian has a special safe which you can’t get into then it can go there. You’re not going near it again, I am  _ not  _ losing you again,  _ got it _ ?”

David gave a hum of acknowledgment and nodded, still looking down, until Robin tilted his head back with his thumb under his chin; David felt eight years old again, now he got when Emma got pissed when he went into ‘Dad’ mode.

“Is that clear, Sunshine?” He asked again, much softer this time, searching David’s blue eyes to make sure he wasn’t lying to him. 

“Yeah,” David bit back the ‘dad’ which was on the very tip of his tongue, “I… you’re right, we’ll find a way back home soon, I just… I miss her a lot, y’know?”

Robin gave him a sympathetic smile, “I do know, kiddo, I do, we’ll find a way to transport anyone who wants to go to your Storybrooke back there. I’ll make sure you get back to your home.” He reluctantly let go of David’s chin. “Now, you and I both need some sleep,” he watched David open his mouth to protest, exactly as he predicted, “I know, that’s why I was going to say we’ll head down to the kitchens, I’ll feed you first, then you need to rest, I’m serious about that one kid, you’re no use to anyone if you’re sick.”

David knew he had no choice, he got to his feet, Robin’s arm was slung over his shoulder, he swallowed deeply. At some point during their walk down to the bowels of the castle the book disappeared from Robin’s hand, David had no idea where, but he was almost certain he would not be seeing that book again. 

He would have to find another way. 

And he  _ would _ find another way. 

**Author's Note:**

> pleeeeeeeeease send me prompts for this verse, I need some, theres some prompts on my tumblr if you need inspiration ( loboselina.tumblr.com/tagged/prompts ) i am literally begging yall


End file.
